Textile element

ABSTRACT

A planar, flexible textile element, which is particularly suitable as a baby sling, consists of at least 90% natural fibres and/or fibres made of natural fibres and has a net structure. In this case, a main part having the net structure and an elastic edging enclosing the main part are provided.

The invention relates to a planar, flexible textile element according to claim 1.

So-called baby slings are known in the industry. They are made of a piece of cloth that is usually rectangular (i.e., a planar, flexible textile element), typically having dimensions of approximately 450 by 50 cm. Such a textile element is generally made from a relatively tightly woven cotton, since it naturally must have a certain tear resistance.

The object of the present invention is to provide a planar, flexible textile element that in particular is suitable as a baby sling, and that has improved properties.

This object is achieved by a planar, flexible textile element having the features of claim 1. The preferred application of such a planar, flexible textile element is a baby sling.

According to the invention, the textile element comprises a planar flexible main part that has a mesh structure. In particular when used as a baby sling this results in numerous advantages over the prior art. The most important advantages are that the mesh structure, due to its structure, imparts a certain elasticity that may greatly increase wearing comfort for the child as well as for the carrier. Regarding the elasticity it is preferred that the meshes of the main part are rhombus-shaped in such a way that a first axis of such a rhombus extends in the direction parallel to the length of the textile element and a second axis extends in the direction parallel to the width of the textile element. In addition, the open mesh structure allows ventilation of the body parts underneath (here as well, for the child and also for the carrier), which likewise results in greatly improved wearing comfort.

In order to prevent fraying at the edges, the edges of the textile element should be hemmed. In the case of a densely woven, essentially inelastic baby sling, a simple turn-up hem can be provided, but due to the mesh structure and in particular due to the elasticity, this has not proved to be favourable in the case of a textile element having a main part with a mesh structure. Therefore, an edging is provided which encloses the main part and is made of a different material than the main part. In order to prevent the edging or the connection between the edging and the main part having (which has the mesh structure) from tearing when the main part is elastically stretched, the edging is elastic, meaning made from an elastic material so that it can stretch along with the main part. A one-dimensional stretchability is usually sufficient. It is preferred that the edging has a stretchability of at least 2%, more preferably of at least 5% and even more preferably of at least 10%. A stretchability of 10% means that a section of this edging that is 1 inch long when no force is applied, can be reversibly stretched to a length of 1.1 inch if a sufficient pulling force is applied to it.

The textile element is preferably rectangular with a length I in a first direction and a width b in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The rectangular design facilitates in particular the application of the edging and furthermore it is thereby easier to adapt the stretchability of the edging to the stretchability of the main part. Especially when the textile element is a baby sling, it is further preferred that the length exceeds the width.

In order to achieve optimum elasticity of the main part solely from its structure, it is particularly preferred that the meshes of the main part are rhombus-shaped with a first axis having a first axis length L and a second axis having a second axis length B, the first axes extending parallel to the first direction and the second axes extending parallel to the second direction. Here, it is further preferred that the ratio of the first axis length to the second axis length substantially corresponds to the ratio of the length to the width of the textile element.

The mesh size of the mesh structure, which is defined here as the maximum length of a mesh, is preferably between 2 and 5 mm. This mesh size is selected so that on the one hand sufficient ventilation is provided, and on the other hand even the small fingers of an infant are prevented from penetrating through the textile fabric or getting caught in it, which of course could be hazardous.

All meshes of the main part are preferably of the same type and oriented in the same way.

Preferably, the edging is ribbon-shaped, in particular in such a way that it encompasses the edges of the main part. Preferably, the ribbon-shaped edging is sewn to the main part in such a way that the seam extends through both layers of the edging and the main part in between. In this case, it is further preferred that the edging is formed without a net structure, so that the seam finds a secure hold.

It is usually advantageous if at least one edging tape is provided per edge in order to avoid kinks in the corners.

In the (usually not preferred) case that the textile element (and thus its main part) is oval and thus has only one circumferential edge, it may be preferred that the edging tape is in one piece.

Preferably, the ribbon-shaped edging contains between 1% and 100%, preferably between 5% and 50% elastane. Preferably, the edging consists exclusively of elastane and of natural fibres and/or fibres made of natural fibres, wherein it is further preferred that the natural fibres or the fibres made of natural fibres are such as are also used for the main part, in order to also keep the skin-friendliness of the edging as high as possible.

As mentioned above, it is not necessary for the main part to contain elastane, so that it preferably consists exclusively of natural fibres and/or fibres made from natural fibres, wherein it is preferred that these are bamboo fibres and/or coconut fibres or fibres made from them. Bamboo fibres in particular are known to have an antibacterial effect, so that odour formation is additionally counteracted. This also improves the overall hygiene. The bamboo or coconut fibres can each be spun directly to yarn threads, from which in turn the main part of the textile element is made. Alternatively, they can also serve as a basis for fibres made therefrom in the viscose process, from which yarn threads are then spun, from which in turn the main part of the textile element is made. Mixtures of both are possible. Another advantage of using bamboo fibres is the high tensile strength of the textile element produced.

The planar, flexible main part of the textile element may be manufactured in various technical processes such as weaving, knitting, crocheting, or warp knitting, with weaving generally being the preferred process, in which case the textile element is a woven fabric. Since the main part of the planar, flexible textile element has a mesh structure, in principle it could also be knotted, although this is generally not preferred.

It is further preferred that for the textile element no further material besides natural fibers or fibers produced from natural fibers, and elastane is used.

It is also possible to use natural fibers as well as fibers produced from natural fibers in a mix.

The invention is now explained in greater detail based on one specific exemplary embodiment with reference to the figures, which show the following:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic top view of a baby sling,

FIG. 2 shows the detail D from FIG. 1 in a likewise schematic illustration and

FIG. 3 shows a section along the plane A-A in FIG. 1 .

The invention is now described with reference to a baby sling 10, wherein the structure specifically described with reference to this exemplary embodiment may also be present for other textile elements according to the invention.

Such a baby sling 10 is a planar, flexible (i.e., bendable), generally pliable textile element. In the embodiment shown (and this usually preferred) it is rectangular and typically has a length I of 450 cm and a width b of 50 cm, wherein other dimensions may also be meaningful.

The textile element 10 has a main part 11 which is also rectangular and has substantially the same dimensions as the entire textile element 10. The main part can be made in particular by weaving, but also by other processes such as knitting or crocheting. The edges of the main part are covered (i.e. surrounded) by an edging 16 (see FIG. 3 ), which here has four sections 16 a-16 d in the form of edging tapes. The edging 16 is sewn to the main part 11, so that four seam sections 18 a-18 d are provided due to the rectangular shape of the textile element. These seam sections may be separate seams or each may be part of a circumferential seam. As can be seen from FIG. 3 , the edge region of the main part 11 is “sandwiched” between two layers of the edging 16 (edging tape/section 16 c is shown) and the seam (seam section 16 c is shown) extends through all three layers. The edging generally does not have a mesh structure so that the seam has a secure hold on both sides.

As can be seen from FIG. 2 , i.e. detail D of FIG. 2 , the main part of the textile element has a mesh structure. This means that it can be described geometrically as being constructed of mutually parallel first strands 12 and mutually parallel second strands 14, the first strands 12 and the second strands 14 not being parallel to each other. In principle, the directions of the two strands may be perpendicular to each other, but this is not the case in the embodiment shown and is also preferred, at least as long as the textile element is not square. First strands 12 and second strands 14 meet at crossing points K, so that four crossing points K each define a mesh M. The meshes are rhombuses (diamonds), each having a first axis extending in the first direction R1 of the textile element 10 (and hence of the main part 11), and a second axis extending in the second direction R2. The structure is uniform, that is, all the meshes are of the same type and are oriented in the same way.

In the embodiment example shown, the length of a mesh in the first direction (first axis length L) exceeds the width of the mesh in the second direction (second axis length B). Preferably, the length of a mesh (i.e, its maximum extension) is between 2 and 5 millimetres. This ensures that the finger of an infant cannot penetrate the fabric or even pass through it, and yet there is sufficient ventilation.

Like any other fabric (this also applies to the other possible methods of manufacture), the textile element is woven from yarn threads, each yarn being spun from a plurality of fibres. In this case, the percentage (in weight) of fibres which are natural fibres or have been made from natural fibres is at least 90 percent, preferably 100 percent. In a preferred example, the main part 11 comprises fibres made of bamboo fibres.

The edging tapes are elastic at least along their “tape direction” and preferably contain elastane fibres for this purpose. This elasticity allows the edging 11 to stretch along with the main part 11 and, in particular, prevents the edging, the main part or the seam from breaking in the region of the seam. The edging tapes (i.e. the edging) are preferably made dense—i.e. not with a mesh structure.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

-   10 textile element 1 baby sling -   11 main part -   12 first strand -   14 second strand -   16 edging -   16 a-d sections of edging/edging tapes -   18 a-d seam sections -   b width of textile element -   B width of a mesh -   K crossing point -   I length of textile element -   L length of a mesh -   M mesh 

1. A planar, flexible textile element which consists of at least 90% natural fibres and/or fibres made of natural fibres, wherein the textile element has a planar, flexible main part having a mesh structure, and wherein the main part is enclosed by an elastic edging.
 2. The textile element of claim 1, wherein it is rectangular with a length I in a first direction and a width b in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.
 3. The textile element of claim 2, wherein the length I exceeds the width b.
 4. The textile element of claim 2, wherein the meshes of the main part are diamond-shaped with a first axis having a first axis length L and a second axis having a second axis length B, the first axes extending parallel to the first direction and the second axes extending parallel to the second direction.
 5. The textile element of claim 4, wherein I:b≈L:B
 6. The textile element of claim 1, wherein the meshes of the mesh structure have a maximum length L of between 2 and 5 mm.
 7. The textile element of claim 1, wherein the edging is in the form of a tape.
 8. The textile element of claim 7, wherein the edging encompasses the edge(s) of the main element.
 9. The textile element of claim 1, characterized in that the edging consists of an elastic material.
 10. The textile element of claim 9, wherein the edging is ribbon-shaped and encompasses the edge(s) of the main element.
 11. The textile element of claim 9, wherein the edging is ribbon-shaped and comprises between 1% and 100%, preferably between 5% and 50% elastane.
 12. The textile element of claim 1, wherein the edging is sewn to the main part.
 13. The textile element of claim 12, wherein the edging is ribbon-shaped and encompasses the main part such the seam which sews the ribbon-shaped edging to the main part extends through the main part and two layers of the ribbon-shaped edging.
 14. The textile element of claim 1, characterized in that the main element consists exclusively of natural fibres and/or fibres made from natural fibres.
 15. The textile element of claim 14, wherein the main part consists of bamboo fibres and/or coconut fibres or fibres made thereof.
 16. The textile element of claim 1, wherein the edging has a stretchability of at least 2%, more preferably of at least 5% and even more preferably of at least 10%.
 17. The textile element of claim 1, said textile element being a baby sling and the width b is between 30 and 70 cm and the length I is between 350 and 650 cm. 